PESHAWAR – The Auditor General of Pakistan has revealed irregularities worth 28bn rupees in the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project between 2019 and 2022.
The audit report details incomplete construction of commercial plazas, flawed operational contracts, and several other financial discrepancies. It states that the free distribution of Zu cards caused a loss of 118.6mn rupees to TransPeshawar. Failure to collect taxes from vendors resulted in losses of 485.8mn rupees. Awarding contracts to various companies without following due process caused an additional loss of 3.78bn rupees.
The report notes that the IPS contract was signed without approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), leading to irregularities worth 11.32bn rupees. The audit also highlights the theft of 1,197 metres of electric cable from different stations, causing losses of 3.4mn rupees. It points out that revenue from advertisements on BRT buses went to vendors instead of TransPeshawar.
Discrepancies amounting to 4.44bn rupees were found in the provincial government’l’s subsidy allocations. The report further records that TransPeshawar’s first Chief Executive Officer, Fayaz Ahmad, was appointed despite not having the required qualifications.
